restitution
Americannoun
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restitutions
plural
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reparation made by giving an equivalent or compensation for loss, damage, or injury caused; indemnification.
- Synonyms:
- repayment, satisfaction, requital, compensation, amends, recompense
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the restoration of property or rights previously taken away, conveyed, or surrendered.
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restoration to the former or original state or position.
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Physics. the return to an original physical condition, especially after elastic deformation.
noun
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the act of giving back something that has been lost or stolen
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law the act of compensating for loss or injury by reverting as far as possible to the position before such injury occurred
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the return of an object or system to its original state, esp a restoration of shape after elastic deformation
Usage
What does restitution mean? Restitution is payment or some other form of compensation that is given to make up for loss, damage, or injury that has been caused. Restitution can also refer to the act or process of compensating someone in this way. The point of restitution is to return what has been lost or stolen or to repair the damage or injury that has been done so that things can be returned to how they originally were or as close as possible. The word is especially used in a legal context to refer to compensation that is required by someone who has caused loss, damage, or injury as part of a crime. Restitution often involves monetary payments, but it can involve other forms of compensation. Example: The defendant was ordered to pay $1 million dollars in restitution to compensate for injuries and property damage.
Synonym Usage
See redress.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of restitution
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English restitucioun, from Old French restitution, restitucion, from Latin restitūtiōn- (stem of restitūtiō ) “a rebuilding, restoration,” equivalent to restitūt(us) + -iōn-. See restitute, -ion
Explanation
Restitution is the act of making up for damages or harm. Remember the time you knocked the ball out of the park, scoring a home run but breaking a house's window in the process? You had to make restitution for the broken window, paying for its replacement. The noun restitution means both "restoring something to its original state" and "returning something to its rightful owner," like a public apology that leads to the restitution of a person's honor and reputation. Restitution also has a specific legal meaning — an order given by a judge to a convicted criminal to make amends for the crime. For example, judges often order people to pay restitution for the damage they cause.
Vocabulary lists containing restitution
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 7
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Hamilton
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The judge ordered Saavedra to pay nearly $100,000 in restitution to the IRS.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
So these figures for every administration represent a ceiling: the full amount of fines, restitution or forfeiture that a judge imposed on a convicted defendant.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Utilities, regulators and lawmakers are grappling with how much money to invest to prevent fires—and how to make restitution when their equipment sparks a blaze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
While some of those who have lost their jobs have been reinstated or received restitution - sometimes in the millions - others like Bourguet have had to rebuild from scratch.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
On top of that, probation officers in most states can require that an individual dedicate 35 percent of his or her income toward the payment of fines, fees, surcharges, and restitution charged by numerous agencies.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
"It must be ensured that there is also a state-of-the-art procedure for future private restitutions."
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2024
Under the court settlement, precious metals dealer Argent Asset Group and First State Depository Company, which were both owned by Mr Higgins, were ordered to make restitutions of $112.7m and pay a penalty of $33m.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023
Hicks, who spoke alongside Osanna at the restitution conference, has argued that anthropological museums today must now become the public spaces to debate problematic collections, while permitting also case-by-case restitutions.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2023
It has also undertaken two high-profile restitutions from its colonial past: In 2005, Italy returned to Ethiopia the massive, 160-ton Axum Obelisk, which Mussolini ordered sent to Rome in 1937 after his troops overran Ethiopia.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2023
Rousseau, not less hostile to the Church, exclaims: “How many restitutions and reparations does not confession cause among Catholics!”
From The Faith of Our Fathers by James Gibbons
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
